Saturday, 13 November 2010
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Problems Conceiving - Help!?
My fiance and I have been trying for a child for about 10 months now, and we haven't had any luck. I was wondering if there are certain things we can do differently, so to say to increase our chances.
We want to try a little longer before visiting a doctor. So recommendations for things we can do ourselves would be great. I read a book about eating different foods, trying specific positions, etc. Do those changes work?
Have you had trouble conceiving? Did any changes you make to your lifestyle, diet/nutrition, or sex life help you to conceive?
Post from Momaroo reader Loveeely
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Comments (28)
Eating a healthier diet certainly won't hurt, but different positions won't make a difference. Also, you should know that after you have been trying for a year without any luck, it is recommended that you and your partner see a doctor to rule out underlying health issues that are preventing you from getting pregnant.
In my case it was not so simple as diet changes and relaxation coupled with "lying with your legs in the air after sex". Some people will suggest you relax, but if it's not happening after a year you should get checked out.
Are you charting your cycles? Noting CM, BBT... all that stuff can help you maximize your baby-making potential...
Try taking evening primrose oil vitamins. You should take 2 of them 3 times a day, which sound like a lot, but it helps you produce more fertile cervical mucus. But only take them until you ovulate, because it causes muscles to contract which is bad if you conceive...which if you don't know on your own when you ovulate, maybe buy ovulation test kits...you are most fertile when you produce EWCM (cervical mucus that has the consistency of egg whites), so it's good to BD when you see that, and you ovulate the day the EWCM dries up.
actually there are some literature that says positions do make a difference. For me I have a retroverted uterus, meaning my uterus tips back instead straight up and down. It is recommended that you try with the man from behind, the legs up in the air doesn't allow the sperm to enter the cervix as effectively.
I think you should at least try to track body temperature or look for the cervical mucus to help determine your prime fertility. If that doesn't work, don't waste your time and go to see your gyn immediately. You may have hormonal issues that needs to be addressed.
we did this trick and it worked the first month we tried... take the 1st day of your period and count forward 14 days. have sex that day but not for 3 days before (it increases sperm count in your husband) hope that works for ya :)
If you find out, let me know - going on 2 years now that we've been trying. And the doctors weren't much help for us...we're limited to military facilities and the gyn to which I was assigned, after I expressed my concern about it being so long that we've been trying, laughed in my face and told me I was "too young to even think about having kids", and that if I came in there in 4 or 5 years and still nothing "then we could talk". I'm almost 25, btw, not that I think family planning should be the decision of the provider instead of the family anyways, lol.
@Vallery@xanga - That doctor sounds like an asshole, as was mine. I was actually referring to a reproductive endocrinologist.
It took 2 years for my husband and me to conceive our daughter. My doctor recommended that we use ovulation predictor kits. After tracking two cycles with the kits, we conceived. I would recommend clear blue digital ones because they will give you the most definite answer possible [smiley face if it's positive,blank circle if it's not] whereas with other tests you will be squinting and trying to decide if the results look positive or not.
@SeeBeeWrite@xanga - Yeah, she was a hoot. And she was my primary care manager, which was most unfortunate because you can't see a specialist without a referral directly from your PCM. :-/
I'll be taking notes from some of the commentors here.. We've been trying for six years.. two years ago we became foster parents so we'd have kids in the house.. I am freaking terrified of going to the Dr.. because I do not know what I will do if something is wrong. My cycles are dead on, i know the day I ovulate, and we have tried charting, did not work for us.
My Dr told me to try having sex every day for six months without the goal of getting pregnant and see what happens.. well, with a 3yr old and an 8 month old (who just started climbing up and walking along furniture) in the house there is no energy left at the end of the day for sex.
For now, we will leave it in God's hands...
Me and My Fiancee have tried so many things, Temps., Ovulation, positions, but i don''t have regular periods but i know plenty of friends that don't have regular ones and have healthy happy babies. I'm going to go to a new doctor to find out anything else and find out if i should give up. Because my last doctor told me b/c of my irregular periods it'll be little to impossible to ever conceive. Its not fair :/
So often I hear about people trying to prevent pregnancy, reading this and all these comments makes me so happy though. I love the whole thing about women and conception and babies... All of you have my prayers and best wishes.
get married first, plan life out, realize about finances then plan for child. not before.
@ThisMachine89@xanga - Thanks. :) For a lot of us, myself included, we've spent a lot of time while getting our lives situated and careers established preventing pregnancy...only to get to a point where we decide to start a family, then nothing happens. It's kind of aggravating to think about how much money we wasted on contraception all those years when we could've apparently thrown caution to the wind, so to speak...but of course, thanks to a little thing called irony, if we'd done that, that's when we would've ended up with a baby before getting financially/emotionally established, lol.
@Her_Journey@xanga - I think many people who are TTC are in that place. My husband and I are "young" in many peoples' opinions (including bonehead doctors), but we both have college degrees and careers, and are very much financially established - hence the ridiculousness of the idea of someone else telling us that we're "not old enough" or are somehow not ready. I wouldn't make that choice for anyone, personally, since it's their decision; but in our case there was really no excuse to not be given a referral.
I know two couples that were in similar situations and struggled with conceiving for several years. They both seemed healthy and really wanted to avoid fertility drugs. After some research they tried acupuncture (the women did) and both couples conceived fairly quickly after that. I'm not exactly sure what is it about acupuncture that would help you get pregnant but both couples highly recommend it to their friends.
If anyone has tried acupuncture for I'd love to hear about your experience.
This sounds crazy but it worked for me. Stand on your head after sex or elevate your hips. I swear to god I didn't make this shit up. I was infertile for 20 years before i knew it was that easy. Any haters want to challenge me on this go right ahead look it up. I know alot of people who conceived that way. If you have a tilted uterus the sperm will not make it to where it needs to go. thats why doctors will recommend that method. Good luck
Cut gluten from your diet entirely. It's estimated that a large enough portion of women who are experiencing fertility woes are Celiac positive and don't know it. It's worth a try at any rate.
@Mangonese@xanga - Amen! Most things are worth a try, especially if they have healthy benefits regardless of whether it helps with infertility!
Yams- not sweet potatoes, actually yams- contain steroidal substances that are similar- or can be converted to- progesterone, and can help increase fertility.
Getting spinal alignments at a chiropractor can also help increase fertility. Alignments relieve pressure off of nerves, which helps your body send its signals more effectively.
My husband and I are trying for another one. I've been off birth control for about 3 months now and so far nothing yet. We already have a precious four year old so we're in no rush. We believe when the time is right, it'll happen so for now we're just having fun. I don't know what advice to offer or what to suggest since I am somewhat in the same boat. I think the most important thing is to not think about it so much. Being intimate should still be fun and exciting and not always planned. I wish you the best of luck on your road to conceiving!
My husband and i have had alot of trouble having a baby,we have been tryn for a couple of years now true we are young but we are married and have our own place and we both work so i dont think there is ant problem with tryn to have a baby now,we both love children,is it possible that it has to do that we both are very big smokers,i've tried to quit but it is somthing very hard to do. But next year that is going to be my goal now that im going to have ovarian cyst removal surgey this week i have to be on alot of care and next year is when i can try to concieve again but is there any other way cause its so hard for him to quit i've tried everything to help him i know nothing is impossible but its just hard he well he and i tried to stop smoking but we stared at a very young age to smoke any advise you may give me thank you.
I hope you're keeping track of everything. When you have your period. When you have intercourse. When you think you might be ovulating. What does your diet mainly consist of. Then your doctors and other advisers can have more of an insight on what's going on.
If all else fails, get the husband checked out.
Pretend you're pregnant right now. That means you need prenatals with a folic acid kicker (sounds like I'm talking about a cocktail here), the daily recommended of water, a healthy diet, and to cut out alcohol and tobacco. Try NOT keeping track of anything, and instead try having sex every day, every other day, or every couple of days (try every day when you KNOW you're ovulating, your body will let you know when). Making a baby is supposed to be fun, not job-like. If you've already tried for nearly a year with no results, I'm sure at this point you are stressed beyond belief. If you haven't already....take a weekend just for the both of you and instead of going out and getting crazy...stay in and get crazy.
A low body fat percentage can lead to fertility problems in women as well. Exercise, but don't overdo it.
Don't think your man is exempt from this either. Have him take a zinc supplement if he doesn't already consume a lot of lean meats, eggs, and whole grains. No alcohol or cigarettes for him, either. Balls shouldn't be in a position to get too hot (it inhibits sperm production).
Just remember to have fun. The more you think about how you're not succeeding, the more stress you'll cause yourself.
I don't want kids until I get married, but I am soooo worried that I will have problems conceiving as well. I can't be sure things will be this way, but I feel like it will be, and I feel like feeling that way is not a good sign. I'm probably just thinking too much about this, right?